Sitting furniture

ABSTRACT

A piece of sitting furniture has front legs and rear legs and a back rest member which merges in a seat member and has an upper portion and a lower portion, said portions merging in one another by portions which in side elevation are of U-shape and constitute the rear legs of the furniture.

United States Patent r191 Persson et al.

m 3,770,317 [451 Nov. 6, 1973 i 1 SITTING FURNITURE [75] Inventors: Eric SigfridPersson, Horby; Signe Harriet Persson-Melin, Malrno, both of Sweden {73] Assignee: Expo Nord AB, Horby, Sweden [22] Filed: Nov. 30, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 203,139

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 10, 197l Great Britain 14,00l/7l June 16, 1971 Great Britain 28,260/71 [52] US. Cl. 297/445, 297/457 [51] Int. Cl A47c 1/12, A47c 7/00, A47c 11/00 [58] Field of Search 297/287, 440, 441,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1940' Breuer 297/287 Persson et al 297/457 lskander 297/457 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 150,261 l0/l93l Switzerland 297/44l Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Att0rney.lohn Lezdey et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A piece of sitting furniture has front legs and rear legs and a back rest member which merges in a seat member and has an upper portion and a lower portion, said portions merging in one another by portions which in side elevation are of U-shape and constitute the rear legs of the furniture.

11 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEUNDV 6 I975 SHEET 3 BF 3 FIGS I 1 SITTING FURNITURE This invention relates to a piece of sitting furniture which comprises front legs and rear legs and a back rest member which merges in a seat member. V

The invention has for its object to provide a piece of sitting furniture in which the back rest member has. an upper portion and a lower-portion, said portions merging in one another by portions which form the rear legs and which in side elevation are of U-shape.

The present invention, in a structurally simple and inexpensive manner in point of manufacture, provides the very desirable effect that the back rest member within its lower part is rigidly or stiffly flexible while it is relatively gently flexible within its upper part which supports the shoulders or neck of the person reclining in the piece of furniture. By this arrangement the piece of furniture according to the invention will have a characteristic and pleasing appearance. The arrangement further offers the possibility of mounting covering and upholstery material on the piece of furniture in a particularly simple and cheap manner.

Although the piece of sitting furniture may be manufactured in the form of a panel of for example metal or plastics material which may be provided with covering and upholstery material, it is particulary suitable to construct the furniture with a specific-type carrying frame or rigging, and the invention will therefore be more fully described in the following with reference to some embodiments of the latter type.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pieceof sitting fumiture according to the invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are sections of two embodiments of a back rest member or a seat member;.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of two identical pieces of furniture which are placed in juxtaposition;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one of the pieces of furniture shown in FIG. 4, as viewed from a point straight ahead of and above the furniture; and

FIG. 6 is an elevation of the piece of furniture in FIG. 5 as seen from the rear.

The piece of sitting furniture shown in FIG. 1 has a back rest member which is divided into an upper portion 1A and a lower portion 13, a seat member 2 and a foot rest member 3. The piece of furniture has a carrying frame or rigging comprising two lateral frame bars 5 which continuously extend from the upper end of the back rest member to the front end of the foot rest member and which are interconnected by cross bars 7 distributed along the length of the lateral frame bars, one of the cross bars being visible in FIG. 1. The lateral frame bars 5 extend from the upper end of the back rest member first downwardly along the side edges of the upper portion 1A of the back rest member, are then bent downwardly and then upwardly again so as to form two rear legs 4 of the furniture, which in side elevation are of U-shape, and thereafter extend downwardly along the side edges'of the lower portion 18 of the back rest member and further along the side edges of the seat member 2, whereupon the lateral frame bars are bent first downwardly and then upwardly again so as to form front legs 6 which as viewed in side elevation are of U-shape (only one of the front legs is visible in FIG. 1), whereupon the lateral frame bars continue forward along the side edges of the foot rest member 3 to the front end thereof. In a manner more specifically described in conjunction with FIG. 2, the lateral frame bars within the region of the back rest, seat and foot rest members and partially also within the region of the U-shaped front and rear legs carry a body-supporting material 20.

As will appear from FIG. Zthe frame bars 5 may be made from metal and each contain two longitudinal channels 8 and 9. The channel 9 is in communication with the atmosphere through a constricted lateral mouth or slot 10 which extends throughout'the length of the bar. The channel 9 having the slot 10 serves for the fastening of the body-supporting material on the frame bars 5. In the embodiment chosen by way-of example the body-supporting material is a web 1 1 of cloth or plastics material and an upholstery 12 of some suitable form secured to one face of the web. The portions of the web 1 1 projecting from the margins of the upholstery 12 are folded and sewn to a hem in which a wire or rope 13 is inserted to form a head. The two beads of the web-ll are passed from one end of the frame bars 5 into the channels 9 thereof, and the beadsare of sufficiently large cross section in order not to permit withdrawal through the. slots 10. In-the two facing walls of the two frame bars 5 holes are bored at spaced apart points into the channel 8 of the bars. Passed into these holes are the ends of the aforesaid cross bars 7. Each cross bar comprises a centrally arranged guide tube 14 in the ends of which are inserted threaded end pins 15, and nuts 16 are screwed onto said pins to bear against the ends of the tube 14. The pins 15 are inserted.

through the above mentioned holes in the bars 5, and by rotating the nuts 16 the ends of the pins can be tightened against the intermediate wall of the bars 5 be tween the channels 8 and 9 and move the frame bars 5 apart while stretching the web 11 between the frame bars which are held together only by the bodysupporting material which urges the frame bars against the cross bars.

It should be pointed out in conjunction with FIG. 2 that the body-supporting material owing to the configuration and location of the channel slot 10 is entirely within those side surfaces of the frame bars which face away from one another, which implies the practical advantage that the body-supporting material is not dam cloth or plastics material which is passed onto the.

frame bars 5A. A suitable upholstery 12 is secured to one outer face of the tubing between the frame bars 5A.

Depending upon the design of the body-supporting material 20 and its fixation to the lateral frame bars '5 it is not always necessary to provide cross bars 7 of adjustable length, and such cross bars can also be fixedly connected to the lateral frame bars. For example it is also possible to bend the lateral frame bars towards one another and the upper and front ends of the piece of furniture and to interconnect the frame bars for forming a frame which extends all around the piece of furniture.

The embodiment of the piece of furniture illustrated in FIGS. 4-6 comprises a back rest member having an upper portion 1A and a lower portion 18, a seat member 2, rear legs 4 and front legs 19. Like in the earlier embodiment the piece of furniture has a supporting frame of bars comprising lateral frame bars and cross bars 7 interconnecting them. The lateral frame bars 5 extend along the side edges of the upper and lower portions 1A and 1B of the back rest member and along the side edges of the seat member 2 and are bent into U- shape between the upper and lower portions 1A and 1B of the back rest member so as to form the rear legs 4, and at the front end of the seat member 2 the lateral frame bars are bent downwardly so as to form the front legs 19. In the embodiment chosen by way of example the frame bars 5 are of the design described in conjunction with FIG. 2 in order to carry and anchor a bodysupporting material within the region of the back rest member 1A, 1B and the seat member and partially also within the region of the rear legs 4.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6 the upper portion 1A of the back rest member increases in width downwardly. This has been realized in that the lateral frame bars 5 havebeen caused to diverge downwardly from the upper end of the upper portion 1A of the back rest member down to the lower end of the rear legs 4. Besides the lower portion 1B of the back rest member decreases in width downwardly, and the seat member 2 decreases in width forwardly. This has been realized in that the lateral frame bars 5 extend from the lower end of the rear legs 4 first in parallel-with or in a slightly convergent manner up to the upper end of 'the lower portion 1B of the back rest member and then converge all the way from the upper end of the portion 18 to the front end of the seat member 2.

In this embodiment (FIGS. 4 to 6) the tension of the body-supporting material 20 is readily adjusted in that the material is shifted along the channels in the lateral frame bars 5 and in that the cross bars 7 need not be adjustable in length for regulation of the tension of the body-supporting material. The same applies if the lateral frame bars and the body-supporting material were designed in accordance with FIG. 3. It also appears from FIG. 4 that several pieces of furniture placed close together will constitute an arcuate row of furniture in which the seat members 2 and the lower back rest member portions 13 are close together while the upper back rest member portions 1A are separated.

It lies within the scope of the invention to give the upper portion of the backrest member an upwardly increasing width and/or to design the lower portion of the back rest member and the seat member with a width decreasing from the front end of the seat member to the upper end of the lower portion of the back rest member.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A piece of sitting furniture, comprising a back rest member, a seat member merging in said back rest member, front legs and rear legs supporting said back rest and seat members, an upper portion and a lower portion of said back rest member, and connecting portions merging in and connecting said upper and lower portions of said back rest member, said connecting portions being in side elevation of U-shape and constituting said rear legs.

2. A piece'of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper portion of said back rest member increases in width in one direction.

3. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 2, wherein said upper portion of said back rest member increases in width in the downward direction.

4. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lower portion of said back rest member and said seat member decrease in width in one direction.

5. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 4, wherein said lower portion of said back rest member and said seat member decrease in width from the upper end of said lower portion of said back rest member to the front end of said seat member.

6. A piece of sitting furniture, comprising a back rest member, a seat member merging in said back rest member, front legs and rear legs supporting said back rest and seat members, an upper portion and a lower portion of said back rest member, a carrying frame of bars, two interconnected lateral frame bars of said frame, and body-supporting material carried by said lateral frame bars, said lateral frame bars extending continuously along the side edges of said seat and back rest members and being bent into U-shape between said upper and lower portions of said back rest member for forming said rear legs.

7. A piece of sittingfurniture as claimed in claim 6, wherein said lateral frame bars diverge from the upper end of said upper portion of said back rest member downwardly to the lower end of said U-shaped rear legs.

8. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 6, comprising a foot rest member, said lateral frame bars extending along the side edges of said foot rest member and being bent into U-shape between said foot rest member and said seat member for forming said front legs.

9. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 6, comprising cross bars extending between said lateral frame bars, said body-supporting material being flexible and extending between said lateral frame bars and extending said lateral frame bars urged against said cross bars.

10. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 9, comprising means for adjusting the length of said cross bars.

11. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 6, comprising means on said lateral frame bars forming channels extending longitudinally of said lateral frame bars and having constricted lateral mouths open in a side face of said lateral frame bars, and marginal beads of said bodysupporting material anchored in the channels of said lateral frame bars.

t k i t 4! 

1. A piece of sitting furniture, comprising a back rest member, a seat member merging in said back rest member, front legs and rear legs supporting said back rest and seat members, an upper portion and a lower portion of said back rest member, and connecting portions merging in and connecting said upper and lower portions of said back rest member, said connecting portions being in side elevation of U-shape and constituting said rear legs.
 2. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper portion of said back rest member increases in width in one direction.
 3. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 2, wherein said upper portion of said back rest member increases in width in the downward direction.
 4. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lower portion of said back rest member and said seat member decrease in width in one direction.
 5. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 4, wherein said lower portion of said back rest member and said seat member decrease in width from the upper end of said lower portion of said back rest member to the front end of said seat member.
 6. A piece of sitting furniture, comprising a back rest member, a seat member merging in said back rest meMber, front legs and rear legs supporting said back rest and seat members, an upper portion and a lower portion of said back rest member, a carrying frame of bars, two interconnected lateral frame bars of said frame, and body-supporting material carried by said lateral frame bars, said lateral frame bars extending continuously along the side edges of said seat and back rest members and being bent into U-shape between said upper and lower portions of said back rest member for forming said rear legs.
 7. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 6, wherein said lateral frame bars diverge from the upper end of said upper portion of said back rest member downwardly to the lower end of said U-shaped rear legs.
 8. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 6, comprising a foot rest member, said lateral frame bars extending along the side edges of said foot rest member and being bent into U-shape between said foot rest member and said seat member for forming said front legs.
 9. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 6, comprising cross bars extending between said lateral frame bars, said body-supporting material being flexible and extending between said lateral frame bars and extending said lateral frame bars urged against said cross bars.
 10. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 9, comprising means for adjusting the length of said cross bars.
 11. A piece of sitting furniture as claimed in claim 6, comprising means on said lateral frame bars forming channels extending longitudinally of said lateral frame bars and having constricted lateral mouths open in a side face of said lateral frame bars, and marginal beads of said bodysupporting material anchored in the channels of said lateral frame bars. 